Van Halen-Themed Play to Debut Off-Broadway in 2019

Next year, a play seemingly based on the story of Eddie Van Halen and David Lee Roth will open up off-Broadway. Eddie and Dave will run at the Atlantic Theatre Company from Jan. 10 through Feb. 10.

The play's website calls Eddie and Dave a "raucous retelling of the rise and fall of Pasadena’s most groundbreaking 80s rockers told through the foggy lens of a lonely, out of work MTV-VJ. Eddie and Dave is a gender-bending new play by Amy Staats (Miles for Mary, Atlantic’s Tow Playwright-in-Residence) about hubris, friendship, family, fame, musical genius and what happens when the person you need is the one you find most irritating."

In a twist, the two leads are being played by women. In addition to writing the show, Staats is playing Eddie, while Megan Hill is playing Dave. Neither the character's last names nor the band Van Halen are directly referenced, most likely due to the unauthorized nature of the show. However, the logo for the show on the website features the distinctive hairstyles worn by the singer and guitarist. during their heyday. The rest of the cast is rounded out by Vanessa Aspilla as the VJ, with Omer Abbas Salem and Adina Verson playing characters named, respectively, Val and Al. Margot Bordelon is directing.

Atlantic Theater Company was founded in 1985 by actor William H. Macy and playwright David Mamet. Their work, which includes bringing this year's Tony Award-winning musical, The Band's Visit, to Broadway, has resulted in 22 Tony Awards, 25 Obie Awards, five New York Drama Critics' Circle Awards and a Pulitzer Prize.